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Game Informer's Australian edition ends

By
Craig Daveson
in
Media News
on
Thursday, 18th April 2019 at 12:35pm

Game Informer Australia is set to be replaced by the US edition as a result of cuts made by EB Games and its parent company Gamestop.

Australian editor David Milner announced the news in a lengthy social media post today, which marks his final as editor of the publication.

In that post, Milner attributed the closure to Gamestop’s inability to find a buyer in recent months, and a drop in the company’s share price.

As Game Informer’s Australian editor, Milner was responsible for 68 issues of the magazine, which is one of few Australian made specialist gaming publications still on the shelves.

“I don't know what’s next. I need time to think. This is a job that never slept; even when I was on holiday I was checking emails, managing crises, handling social media, always thinking about the next deadline,” said Milner.

“I once brought my laptop to the MCG and subbed magazine pages during the Boxing Day test match.”

“I haven’t been completely off for six years, and a small part of me is relieved I finally get to slow down for a while.”

Under Milner’s direction in the past year, Game Informer Australia had grown its readership by 19 per cent, though he conceded in his post that ad sales had not matched that figure.

Milner, who joined the publication after winning its NextBigCritic competition in 2011, used the opportunity to list some of his proudest moments at the publication.

Those include running a cover in support of the LGBTQI community during 2017’s marriage equality campaign, long-form reporting on issues affecting Australia and its games industry, and personally paying freelancers to finish up their work when the publication’s budget was cut last year.

Game Informer is not the first such publication to close in recent times. Most recently, PC & Tech Authority finished its run last year when Nextmedia sold its consumer tech assets to Future.

Looking toward the future, Milner told Influencing that he is open to new writing and editing opportunities, and not just in the gaming field.

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Black lives matter. For any who argue 'all lives matter' it's time to stop the posturing and stand up for the lives that have been undervalued and overlooked for too long. If all lives matter, then prove you mean it by working for a more equal society – and for an industry that better represents us all.

The spark has been lit again. Not for the first time, but let’s try harder than ever to make the spark a genuine flame for change. And locally that means doing far better to end indigenous disenfranchisement and to help their representation grow.

I can do better. I want to do better.

We can all do better.

Instead of trying to just say more words on behalf of others, I'll follow the lead of many others today and just link to a number of local STEM and tech voices that do better than I can to speak for those crying out right now.